The Queen's Devotion: The Story of Queen Mary II by Jean Plaidy Page A

was surrounded by affection and I believed it would go on like that forever.
    I knew there were trials, but I did not take them seriously. There was the continual harping on the religious theme. It kept cropping up, but I did not think it was any great concern of mine.
    How wrong I was!
    I knew there was trouble on the Continent. There was constant talk of wars and treaties. That had nothing to do with me, so I thought. The Dutch were our enemies, then the French were; then we were friends with this one or that. What had that to do with life at St. James’s and Whitehall? A great deal, I was to discover.
    And then one day we heard that the Prince of Orange was to pay a visit to the court.

    I HAD HEARD THE NAME of this Prince mentioned now and then—and more frequently of late. He was some kinsman of ours. His mother had been the eldest daughter of my grandfather, Charles the Martyr, so he was the nephew of the King and my father—and my cousin.
    He had a Dutch father and I had been brought up to hate the Dutch, though I learned later that the people liked them better than they did the French. My father and the King had always preferred the French, but then they were half French themselves.
    We had been at war with the Dutch, so therefore the Prince of Orange would have been our enemy—but enemies of yesterday were today’s friends and it appeared that we were making treaties with the Dutch, and it was for this reason that Prince William of Orange was coming to England.
    There was a certain amount of gossip about him among the girls of the household. He had visited Whitehall seven years or so before. I had hardly been aware of it, but the older girls like Elizabeth Villiers and Sarah Jennings remembered it very well.
    â€œHe caused some interest when he was here last,” commented Elizabeth.
    â€œNotoriety,” added Sarah Jennings. “Such a virtuous young man he was. He was very serious.”
    â€œAnd very religious,” added Elizabeth.
    â€œOf course,” went on Sarah, “it was his aim to maintain the Protestant faith throughout Europe. He hated the French King because his aim was exactly the opposite.
He
wanted to crush the Protestants and make the whole continent Catholic. So you see how it was between them.”
    â€œSome would have thought,” put in Anne Trelawny, “that, with all his might, Louis would have triumphed and soon silenced the Dutch.”
    â€œOh, but the Prince would not give in,” said Sarah. “He was determined and has the reputation of being a clever commander. His small country stood out against the French . . . and now here he is, talking peace with England.”
    â€œWhich the French won’t like,” said Anne Villiers.
    â€œBut the people here will,” added Elizabeth. “They like the Prince . . . not for his charm . . . he is a little lacking in that . . . but because he is such a good religious man with ideas that appeal to the English. But in spite of his solemn ways, he caused a good deal of amusement on his last visit.”
    â€œWhat did he do?” I asked.
    Sarah and Elizabeth exchanged glances and laughed.
    â€œIt was really very funny,” said Sarah, “and they shouldn’t have done it. But he was such a virtuous young man that the temptation was too strong. He must have been about twenty then. He did not drink . . . only schnapps, a sort of Holland gin; he liked to retire at ten o’clock, so that he could be at work early in the morning. You can imagine what the King and the courtiers thought of that! Virtue is a challenge to them—a fortress to be stormed and overcome. So they decided to have some fun with him.”
    â€œThey might have tried to be a little more like him,” I said.
    â€œOh, Lady Mary!” cried Anne Villiers. “You could surely not expect that!”
    â€œI will tell you what they did,” added Sarah. “They took him to supper at the Duke